The Red Diamond Dragon

Play Nice

Johnathan

I woke up early, my internal clock set for training, but there was no training today with everyone getting ready for the day's events. I had told my son Nikolai I would check on all the patrols since he would be busy greeting guests, I laughed a little at that since it was no longer my job. I was able to dress casually and go about the day. I had one meeting after lunch that I was being coerced into attending, but I should not complain they were not asking a lot of me.

I started at the outside edge, working my way around the large perimeter of the pack, checking patrol stations, and verifying cameras with our head of security. I came to the gate where I was greeted by Liam. He was a good man and usually loved to chat but seemed eager to leave his shift exchange today. The warrior, Don, who had taken over for him, laughed as Liam sprinted away.

“What was that about?” I was curious.

“Some curvy beauty showed up, and he is off to find her and introduce her to everyone. Said she was a real sweetheart and seemed shy even.” Don laughed.

“Well, that’s good to know this younger generation recognizes the sweet ones and not some of the other kind that come around these events,” I replied, Don nodded, knowing exactly what I meant. A dark SUV pulled up as we were talking, I watched as Don checked him in. I recognized the Alpha of Desert Moon in the vehicle, and I nodded, acknowledging his greeting. I didn’t like the man. Something about the way he treated women rubbed me wrong, not to mention his incessant a** kissing to Xander when he was Alpha. I shrugged it off, realizing that would be the boy’s problem now and not ours. Smiling, I excused myself to continue rounds on the perimeter. It was mostly our young warriors on shift today taking their turn so they would be free for the events coming forward and the ball. Our mated wolves covered those nights to give everyone a chance at finding a mate.

I finished and was walking around the buildings when I heard a low growling coming from the orchard next to where I was. I came around the corner to find Liam, and several others squared off against a woman who looked very high-maintenance. She stormed off in the opposite direction as I approached the large group.

“Would anyone care to tell me what that was about?” I questioned all of them at once. I was sure they had good reason, but we had to be careful at these events not to offend the wrong people and make unnecessary enemies.

“We were having a nice lunch when that…. Woman…. Walked up and completely disrespected Madeline, then proceeded to tell us that she was a non-shifter and worthless. She went on about how we couldn’t be friends with her.” Jax was the one who spoke up. Liam was standing to the side his eyes dark; it was rare to see the man upset so this could not have been good, and I was not sure who Madeline was, probably the woman Liam had come to find.

“I appreciate you all defending someone who is visiting, especially someone being treated differently for what they are, but please try not to cause any unnecessary heartache for your Alpha. We do not know who that woman’s family is, so play nice.” I couldn’t be mad at them, and they technically didn’t do anything wrong.

“Yes sir.” They all said in unison.

“Liam, I am sure your friend is somewhere around. I suggest you go find her and explain the way our pack works.” He nodded, breathing out, finally relaxing his stance and turning to walk away.

“Bet I can get her back if you can’t” Jax called out to him. I watched as Liam flipped him off without turning back. I smiled, loving how close our pack members were, especially our warriors.

“That b***h is probably just jealous; Madeline is absolutely a stunning natural beauty, and that other woman had a pound of make-up on who knows what she was covering up.” I heard Meg say as I was walking away. I smiled a bit and would have to watch to see who this Madeline was that had half these men already in love with her and Liam so protective of her already. I came around the pack house halting and changing direction quickly. The woman I had seen leaving the group was standing talking angrily to an older couple I assumed were parents. At least she wasn’t an alpha child. I didn’t want to run into the woman; I did not have the best history with those kinds. They were constantly throwing themselves my way in the most inappropriate ways. I shuddered thinking about it. I had very specific tastes and a very dominant se**al appetite. These high-maintenance women were not my type in the least. I preferred women like my mate had been, soft and curvy, full of life and love. I pushed the thoughts away and headed home to change for the meeting.

The meeting was more entertaining than I had expected. It was kind of fun watching all these alphas suck up to our boys while Xander and I were largely left alone. One of the younger Alpha’s, Damien, sat close to us. He seemed amused watching the show as well. He was a good man around our son's age. Xander wanted to open a school that specialized in training tactical groups and Alpha Damien was on board to help us with that, his pack was known for their strong warriors, but they did not have any specialized groups.

We left the meeting heading to the dining area together. Thankfully, our table consisted of the pack’s current leadership and us, so it was all family and friends. The company was filled with laughter and conversation. We had people constantly stopping by the table to speak with the Alpha and some to try and rub elbows with Xander and me. It was tiring, to say the least. I looked over towards our warriors to see how they were doing, and they seemed fine, recovered from the small spat this afternoon. Being this close to the full moon, a few would find their mates by tomorrow, but most would not feel it until the full moon. All wolves' mates revolved around the moon, but it was different for other species and mixed shifters, so it was always interesting to see where everyone landed when the balls were held in our pack.

I sighed in relief when the main meal had finished, I knew dessert with drinks would be served in a while, so it was time for people to start mingling. I excused myself from the table, heading to the restroom for a small break. At times, being around this many people felt overwhelming. As I stepped out into the hallway, I accepted a glass of Burbon from a server walking by, smiling at them gratefully. I noticed the door to the terrace was mostly covered; I looked around for a moment before slipping outside unnoticed. I took a deep breath of the cool night air and pulled a cigar from my suitcoat pocket. Lighting it, I took a slow drag from it, watching the red embers glow and the smoke swirl into the darkening sky. I smoked half of the cigar, letting the quiet calm my mind before putting it out and tossing the end into a garbage can. I leaned back onto the cool stones of the building, picking up the crystal-cut glass of Bourbon. I sighed, watching the condensation drip down the glass reflecting on the amber liquid inside. After a moment, I tossed back the remaining liquid, steeling myself to go back inside.

The door to the terrace clicked open and then slowly as quietly as possible was closed. A woman walked across to the end of the Terrace looking out over the edge, I could hear her ragged breathing and attempts to calm herself. My eyes were drawn down over her plump, very curvy figure, and a spark of interest ignited. She was dressed in loose conservative clothing that, on instinct, I knew was hiding her true figure. I stayed still, not wanting to interrupt her when a soft breeze blew my way, The soft smell of cinnamon, ginger, and crisp fall caught my attention. A glimmer of hope surged through me as my body began to feel like a slow burn was starting. I quietly moved towards the woman. She was still breathing deeply trying to calm herself, I could see her dark hair pulled up neatly, exposing her soft olive skin. I stood quietly behind her. She was probably around 6 feet tall but still short compared to my height. The energy between us began to intensify, feeling like fire was slowly burning into a raging inferno. This was a different feeling from my first mate. She spun around her eyes, landing on my chest, and then slowly moved up my body until our eyes connected. “Mine” the word slipped out like a prayer to the goddess herself. She was stunning even with her eyes slightly red from unshed tears. She stared at me, those beautiful soft brown eyes locked with mine, and the smell of exotic spices filling the air, the bond was there but felt like I couldn't quite catch it, was it because the full moon had not set? Was it because she was a wolf?

“I will kill whoever has made you cry, Angel,” I said, brushing a tear from her face.